i hope in 20 years that rap music will redeem itself, however i dont think dat will happen.
most likely we will get sum new form of hip hop just as annoying as reggation and crunk/hyphy are now.

don't knock reggaeton just yet.
Try listening to some Residente.

In any event I imagine reggateon will be a big thing in urban music for a few more years to come.

hes right reggaeton sucks.

well maybe Rap will be a little more thought out because in some songs of rap they just like sing the same exact things OVER AND OVER AGAIN. It gets kind of annoying.

That's where I think Rap will be in 20 years.

Haha I don't even like rap, but I know for sure they don't sing the same things over and over...

:usehead:

commerical rap like 50 cent sucks. rap like nas and scarface rocks

commerical reggaeton sucks. reggateon like residente rocks.

It's all about perspective

at least ya got that part right.
50's Get Rich album wasnt that commercial excpet for In Da Club and 21 Questions and P.I.M.P. But the Assacre was way more commercial.

50 cent is one of the most commercial generic rappers ever. The only thing about him that's original is we know how many times he's been shot without reading about it.

In the next twenty years I imagine we'll be hearing more about him and more of his music (unfortunately).
it's guys like him that'll keep underground alive though.

rap will likely become more commercial until a contrasting artist pops up and starts the genre over again, similar to what nirvana did to rock right when hair metal was the big thing.

Yeah, you're right.
It wasn't that commercial, minus the three major singles that were played non stop on every pop rap radio station across the globe.

But that's to say the underground will become almost nonexistant. And there will always be an underground for rap.

Haha, got you there Raine.

Raine's been gotten everywhere on her body in this forum.

i dont know where rap will be in 20 years but right now a lot of people only know whats on the radio and they accept it.

I think rap will be in the same place it is today, the commercial garbage will always exist and so will the underground where the real lyricisits are....I also think there will be a few more different sounds to rap...grime will definately become more popular and there will be other styles coming out that will become popular also but come on....who doesn't love a commercial hit or two...especially when you are in the club and there's a new dance to go with it?

im not saying liking a commercial hit or two is bad but if thats all ya like ya need to check the rest of the hip-hop thats out there. i like all types of rap out there whether it be political, gangsta, club, the truth whateva.

opinions change.

I see rap hip hop just getting bigger every year every month every wekk it just keeps getting bigger rappers are getting richer producers are getting serious $$$ and the music just keeps getting better its amazing how much hip hop has influenced now generations of kids and not just in the united states either I mean hip hop has gone world wide you can go to afganistan and little kids know who 50 cent is its crazy I lived in mexico last year and it amazing the hip hop culture there clubs cars the dressing it was crazy even the captain of our boat was bumping too short go to www.puertovallartafish.com to see photos it was great this guy could barely speak english but had all the classics snoop dog, dre, even had some old beastie boys then he through on the new 50 cent like shake shakeshake that a$$ girl man that was a great trip and I think that is what hip hop is all about having a good time and as long as stays like that I only see hip hop getting bigger in the upcoming years

hip hop is forever

i feel like rap will die down in the next couple of years and then grow again later. there will be some other underground urban music that will make its presence known and then rap will take over again. as far as the talent goes, threre will always be good and bad. thats inevitable

I kinda see music forming this fusion just like it has started to do, but even more so

By the way its lookin now...the name says it all...its a wrap!

Rap will be Disco today. Everything, including music, creates more tension between skill vs. talent. Will music be alive in 20 years? If life makes it far enough to see the day, then my guess would be Rap, Hip Hop will die out in a few years. Newer styles are born, and we learn from the greatest musicians who inspire us to be original. Hard telling to be honest. Rap and country may be mixed, Rap could be called "straightland". Let your imagination build the next 20 years.

Don't you think that's just a bit melodramatic? I'm hoping to see the first good (I mean good not decent) album from Mos Def since Black on Both Sides and possibly Lauryn Hill's sophomore album: "The Remiseducation of Lauryn Hill: Rasta Chronicles) but I'm not holding my breath...

In all seriousness, contrary to my previous post, it's becoming more and more difficult to say what is and is not underground. Take Mos Def for example, he's sold over 1 million cd's (Black on Both Sides alone went gold) but he maintains a sound that is fairly underground, and you don't hear him much- if ever on the radio. Is he still underground even though he is fairly well known? A better example would be his fellow black star- Talib Kweil. He's sold plenty of records, he's on MTV/BET but his lyricism strays from the dumbed down topics of a "mainstream" rapper- is he underground or mainstream? You could also take Jay-z and Soulja boy. Jay is a mainstream rapper while Soulja is more of a bubblegum or hip-pop rapper. So the question I'm asking is what is underground? Is it the guy that sounds like a MIMS, Soulja Boy, or Luda but hasn't been discovered ye? Is it the guy who's sold millions but stays away from MTV and the radio? The way I see it, the term "underground" is more to describe the sound or "feel" of an artist rather than a status.

RAP will be horrible in 20 years, its already horrible now, except for a few releases, like Nas's new cd, but other than that, rap is horrible. Back then (and im talkin like 8 years, not that long ago), even mainstream rap was sick. then came cash money records with bling bling, which kinda brought hip hop down but was still alright. then came Crunk with Lil Jon, which was not good hip hop but got the dance floor poppin. Then comes snap and bubblegum, NOW THAT **** IS ****IN HORRENDOUS. hahaa JayZ is what mainstream rap should sound like, not soulja boy. but the underground will always be dope IMO

holy contradictions, batman.

what contradictions? the thing I said about Jay Z? Jay Z is pop, but he can rip a beat if he wants to, and if hes the leader of mainstream hip hop, im cool with that

In 20 years rap will be a joke. You know how we watch the retro '80's videos and say "Wow, They actually thought that was cool?"? Rap will be like that.

^^

.

Seeing as there was Rap 20 years ago...

It doesn't matter how long its been around it's about how long they can milk and market it. All genres start out with pioneers and originality but soon carbon copies follow and the real listeners just don't buy the new **** cause it just simply sucks. Looks like rap is getting right up there with country. HAHAH you tell me the rap nowadays isn't a joke. They take themselves so serious in those videos honestly I find it funnier than retro.

There's plenty of good rap, it's just not in the mainstream. People will keep buying/making that so I could care less if Kanye sells or not. Regardless people have been marketing ****ty boy bands (Or something similar) since the beginning of the recorded music, even with the internet there will always be **** like that.

I agree there is plenty of good rap, I liked some of the mainstream rap from the late 80's early 90's. Your right about the marketing, maybe rap is just one of the longer runners. No matter what you listen to SOMEONE is gonna say it sucks or is a joke.

At this rate, with all of the extremely ****ty rap out there now(which is just about everything on the charts/radio today), I would gladly say:

NON EXISTANT.

There's still good rap today, and millions of kids who the ****ty rap and whose kids will like the ****ty rap. Tastes change, but whole genres stay 'alive'. Rap is not a trend, it's a genre.

Jesus it keeps getting worse. Get Silly? This stuff makes Lil' Jon listenable.

:(

"everyone always asks - wheres hip-hop going? Next time ask yourself where am i going? how am i doing? If were smoked out hiphop will be smoked out, if im doing alright hip hop will be alright. - the mighty mos

For the last ten or 15 years rap has been mixing with rock. they'll probably start mixing it with a lot of other styles as well -- country rap(?).

I like your beef.

lol, Three 6 Mafia...? Basically country rap..

I see more women rappers and more rap bands ......and also me at the top